Harvard Response to Tragedy

Video of the Nieman Foundation's roundtable conversation on what we can learn from the coverage of the Marathon bombings. Speakers include Boston Globe deputy managing editor for local news Jennifer Peter; Globe reporter and 2013 Nieman Fellow David Abel; Cheryl Fiandaca, chief of public information for the Boston Police Department; Seth Mnookin, co-director of MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing; Callie Crossley, host of WGBH's "Under the Radar"; and The Washington Post's director of digital content David Beard. The event was introduced by Nieman Foundation curator Ann Marie Lipinski and was moderated by James Geary, Nieman's deputy curator. Recorded May 1, 2013.

Following the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon and a dramatic search for the suspects, the city's emergency preparedness and response systems have been credited with saving lives. This Forum event, focused primarily on the immediate aftermath of the bombings, revealed the sometimes surprising underpinnings of a successful emergency preparedness system and shared hard-won lessons applied and learned. This event was presented April 26, 2013 in collaboration with WBUR. Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health at

"Boston Marathon Tragedy and Aftermath" featured Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, former Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs Department of Homeland Security Juliette Kayyem, Harvard Divinity School Dean David Hempton, Director of MEMA Kurt Schwartz, WBZ Anchor David Wade and Harvard Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood. The extensive conversation touched on terrorism, coordinated city, state and federal responses, impact of the media, and the resilience of Boston.